Local volunteers join search effort for missing family

Reid Southwick, Calgary Herald07.16.2014

Searchers are briefed before heading out to search for clues in the disappearance of Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Volunteer searchers Mark Condon, left, and Stephanie Gillis sign up Tuesday evening to search in public areas of Airdrie for clues in the disappearance of Nathan O'Brien, 5, and his grandparents, Alvin and Kathryn Liknes, who police have said are murder victims.Gavin Young, Calgary Herald
/ Calgary Herald

Volunteers hoping to find clues in the disappearance of Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents go over maps before heading out from Nose Creek Park in Airdrie on Tuesday evening.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

More than 100 Calgarians released balloons at the Parkhill Stanley Park Community Hall in a tribute to Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents on Tuesday evening.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

The Maltais family along with more than 100 others released balloons at the Parkhill Stanley Park Community Hall in a memorial to Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents on Tuesday evening.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Volunteer searchers, from left, Stephanie Grey, Debra Thompson and Michelle Seghers-Greene, look at maps before helping in the search for clues into the disappearance of Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Timeline of events in the homicide case of three Calgarians.Darren Francey
/ Calgary Herald

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More than 100 volunteers formed a search party that fanned out across Airdrie Tuesday evening in the hopes of finding the bodies of a missing five-year-old boy and his grandparents.

It was among several signs of support that rippled across the Calgary area as the region dealt with the devastating news that police believe Alvin and Kathryn Liknes, and their grandson Nathan O’Brien, were murdered.

Douglas Robert Garland, 54, was formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder and a single count of second-degree murder after the trio vanished from the Likneses’ Parkhill home two weeks ago. He’s expected to appear in court Wednesday.

Police had carried out an extensive search of an Airdrie acreage owned by Garland’s parents, and surrounding properties, but Chief Rick Hanson asked homeowners to continue looking for anything suspicious.

For many volunteers who gathered at an Airdrie park to begin scouring public lands across the city, Nathan’s story had affected them deeply because they have children of their own.

“I couldn’t just sit on my hands and do nothing,” said Natalie Taylor, a mother of three and a certified dog trainer, who brought along her Border collie named Nitro, which is trained to find bodies.

Laura Cameron and Tara Murphy, who co-ordinated the search, had been strangers until Monday, when they met online and became united by their desire to help find Nathan and his grandparents. The idea mushroomed into a massive effort, with one organizer estimating roughly 160 volunteers were searching across the city.

“We’re both moms ourselves and we just want to find this little guy if we can, and we’ll keep searching until something shows up and tells us we should stop,” Cameron said.

Volunteers began looking under the strict provisions that if they found a body or anything suspicious, they were not to touch it, take photographs or talk about it, but instead immediately call police. Private properties were off-limits, but searchers were given flyers to hand out to homeowners, telling them to look for anything unusual.

A couple hours after the Airdrie search party gathered, countless green balloons were released into the sky across the Calgary region and beyond to show the O’Brien and Liknes families just how many of their fellow residents support them.

More than 10,000 people had indicated in a Facebook group they would send up balloons at 8 p.m. in parks and backyards. Outside the community hall at Parkhill, not far from the Likneses’ home, dozens of supporters gathered for the big release.

“I’m traumatized; I’m devastated,” said Tiffany Martinson, mother of a four-year-old daughter, who had made hundreds of green ribbons to hand out in solidarity with the families, whom she doesn’t know.

“This means a lot for me to support this family and show them I’m here for them, in any way I can be.”

Earlier on Tuesday, ATB Financial set up a trust fund for the O’Brien family to help them in their time of need. It started when Lisa Wise, a Calgary woman, asked ATB CEO Dave Mowat on Twitter to set up an account for Rod and Jennifer O’Brien, Nathan’s parents. Albertans can donate to the O’Brien family trust account at any ATB branch.

“People in our community just feel that they want to help this family,” said Craig Hampson, a Calgary executive with the bank. “People, especially in Calgary and in Alberta, our hearts just go out to this family. We’ve been following this story for so long. And we’re never surprised anymore by the generosity of Albertans in times like this.”

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